Biopesticides for Environmental Safety and Sustainable Agriculture

Pesticides are used in agriculture, globally, to reduce yield losses and maintain produce pre/postharvest quality by eradicating unwanted insects and controlling disease and extend its shelf-life in order to keep pace with the growing demand for food. This extensive use of chemical pesticides has certainly provided protection to the crops. However, the practice has also raised concerns about pesticide residues in the food and environment. 

In Kashmir valley, chemical pesticide use has reached a high. Human well-being and loss of productivity have, although, remained stagnant. Ignorance among less knowledgeable farmers has resulted in the indiscriminate application of pesticides. Studies have found that about 1/3rd of the pesticides used are spurious in nature. Chemical pesticides adversely affect beneficial organisms, leave harmful residues in food, feed, and fodder, and cause environmental pollution. 

Food Crisis, Intensive Agriculture, and Environmental Issues

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations forecasted the need to increase world food production by 70% in order to keep pace with the increasing demand for food. Maximizing food production is the primary objective of all nations, as the global population is expected to reach approximately 10 billion by 2050. 

Thus, arose a need to produce more food from less per capita arable land and available water. But providing ample food was only the first part of the challenge. The second and more important challenge was to produce and protect them in a safe and sustainable manner. This is where intensive agriculture was deployed, using green revolution technology, characterized by the use of high-yielding varieties, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides.

There are an estimated 67,000 agricultural pest species that damage crops. However, due to the issue of pest resistance and withdrawal of some products on either regulatory or commercial grounds, only a few chemical pesticides are available in the market. Out of the 215 pesticides registered for use in India, 39 have been banned for use or withdrawn from the market. Thus, the requirement for the manufacture of even more pesticides has built up.

While the progress in agricultural production has been very impressive, intensive agriculture has resulted in several undesirable effects on the environment, and the overall sustainability of farming systems. 

There are rising concerns about the loss of biodiversity and endangered species, set against the requirement to increase agricultural production without excessive reliance on chemical pesticides. Hence, the need of the day is to produce maximum from the decreasing availability of natural resources, without adversely affecting the environment. 

Need for Biopesticides

Environmental safety and agricultural sustainability are equally important for survival on Earth. This is where biopesticides come into the picture.

Biopesticides or biological pesticides refer to the use of living biological organisms or their metabolites for pests, pathogens, weeds, nematodes, rodents, etc. In accordance with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization standards, biopesticides are generally natural compounds or genetic modification agents, including biochemical pesticides (pheromones, hormones, plant regulators, insect growth regulators) and microbial pesticides (fungi, bacteria, or genetically modified microorganisms), which do not include antibiotic agricultural preparations. However, in the practical application of agricultural production, biopesticides generally refer to the large-scale industrial production of microbial pesticides.

Biopesticides are made from naturally occurring substances that control pests by non-toxic mechanisms and in an eco-friendly manner. Hence, biopesticides pose less threat to the environment and human health. They are generally less toxic than chemical pesticides, often target specific, have little or no residual effects, and have acceptability for use in organic farming.

Biopesticide Use and Management

Increasing demand for pesticide residue-free crop produce is one of the key drivers of the biopesticide market. Growing organic food market and easier registration than synthetic chemical pesticides are other important driving factors.

The development of biopesticides has largely followed a chemical pesticide model that does not fully exploit favorable biological properties of the biological agents. While there is commercial pressure from the manufacturing side to develop products, the environmentalists prefer narrow-spectrum products based on the strains from the area of use. 

To reconcile these divergent demands, biopesticides in the market have been maintained at minimal negative impact, if any, on the environment. Increased public concerns about potential adverse environmental effects associated with the use of synthetic pesticides prompted the search for products based on natural resources.

One such innovation is the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) program. It is a pragmatic approach to maintaining an intricate balance between environmental safety and agricultural productivity with sustainability being an important factor. 

Objectives of ICM are:

• Reducing external inputs, such as inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and fuel by means of farm-produced substitutes. 
• As complete replacement of these inputs is not possible without significant loss of yields, partial substitution of the inputs can be achieved by the use of natural resources. 

In recent decades, the focus on crop production has shifted from yield to quality and safety. Evidence suggests that biopesticide is an important component for promoting sustainable agriculture, hence it has gained a lot of interest, particularly in view of the growing demand for organic foods. 

On this note, let’s also know some downsides of biopesticides:

• Slower rate of control, often a lower efficacy, and shorter persistence compared to conventional pesticides
• Greater susceptibility to adverse environmental conditions
• Greater level of knowledge required by the grower to use them effectively

Recommendations 

Globally, there are 175 registered biopesticide active ingredients and more than 700 products available in the market. The global biopesticide market has been valued at US $2.3 billion. It was expected to reach US $5.2 billion by 2020.  

But there is still a lot to achieve in this regard, now of all times, when people are consciously leaning towards safety rather than yield.

• Identifying the ill effects of synthetic pesticides, most countries have amended their policies to ensure minimal use of chemical pesticides and promote the usage of biopesticides. However, biopesticides are still under the regulatory system originally developed for chemical pesticides. This creates a market entry barrier by imposing burdensome costs on the biopesticide industry. 
• Biopesticides represent only 1% of the global market for agrochemicals. So, policy measures need to be strengthened in order to minimize the use of chemical pesticides and promote the use of biopesticides. 
• There are certain technical difficulties in making biopesticides more effective and applicable. Generally, biopesticide application is not complicated, however, it may require training and knowledge about pests/pathogens against which they can be applied successfully. 
• The other challenging task is to develop a balance between the broadly defined costs and benefits of biopesticides compared with synthetic pesticides. 
• The new-found biopesticides may bring with them new regulatory and economic challenges that must be addressed jointly by the social and natural scientists, policymakers, and the industry. 
• One other major obstacle in promoting biopesticides is the lack of profile which again reflects the weakness of the policy network. The relative immaturity of the policy network, lack of trust between regulators and producers, and limited resources and capabilities are some of the serious issues that need to be addressed.
• A better understanding of the mode of action of biopesticides, their effects, and regulatory issues that arise during their adoption may help to raise their profile among the public and policy-makers. 

Future Prospects 

As environmental safety is a global issue, there is a need to create awareness among the common people to switch over to biopesticides for their pest management requirements. Biopesticides are expected to provide predictable performance. Deployed properly, biopesticides have tremendous potential in bringing sustainability to agriculture and ensure environmental safety.

References:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345434006_Pesticide_use_in_Jammu_and_Kashmir_Invisible_Costs_and_Willingness_to_Pay_for_Available_Alternative_Measures

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-35691-0_6#citeas

https://www.longdom.org/open-access/biopesticide-an-environment-friendly-pest-management-strategy-2155-6202-1000e127.pdf

https://www.agricology.co.uk/resources/biopesticides-pros-and-cons